Impairment-adaptive electronic data interaction system

ABSTRACT

A system for dynamically adjusting content for an interaction impairment can include a data provider, an end-user electronic device, a user identification module, and a data adjustment module. The data provider can be capable of providing access to electronic data. One or more characteristics of the electronic data can be incompatible with an impairment of an impaired user. The end-user electronic device can be configured to allow the impaired user to interact with electronic data. The user identification module can be configured to identify an identity of the impaired user and/or the impairment of the impaired user. The data adjustment module can be configured to automatically adjust incompatible characteristics of the electronic data prior to presentation by the end-user electronic device. This adjustment can increase the ability of the impaired user to utilize the electronic data with the end-user electronic device.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to the field of data interaction and, moreparticularly, to an impairment-adaptive electronic data interactionsystem.

It is now commonplace for people to interact with electronic data, oftenreferred to as content, on a daily basis; for individual and/or businesspurposes. Portable electronic devices like smartphones and tabletcomputers allow people to interact with desired data more often and inmore places. As a result, the amount of electronic data, in its variousforms (e.g., documents, applications, videos, Web pages, etc.), isever-increasing in the world.

Content is created with a target demographic in mind. This targetdemographic is often broad (e.g., youth, parents, males, females, etc.)and tends to overlook the ability of the demographic to adequatelyinteract with the content. For example, the chromatic scheme used on aWeb page is often selected based on technical factors (i.e., the pixelhue rendering is supported properly by a variety of browsers ordevices), psychological factors (i.e., the background has a calmingeffect), and/or taste (i.e., the author likes red). While the choice ofRGB properties for the Web page will not affect the majority of users,those having a visual impairment like an inability to distinguish redand green will be at a disadvantage. These chroma choices are capable ofrendering the entire Web page unusable to a visually-impaired user.

Unless impaired users are the target demographic, most content iscreated without consideration for impaired users. Content created bylarge companies is more likely to offer different modes or alternateversions to accommodate impaired users. While this is appreciated, userimpairments are often too specific to be handled in a general manner.For example, a software application includes a mode for chromainsensitive users. There are four types of chroma impairments (i.e.,red, green, blue, and total) and each user, even if of the same type,will have different levels of severity.

BRIEF SUMMARY

One aspect of the present invention can include a system for dynamicallyadjusting content for an interaction impairment. Such a system caninclude a data provider, an end-user electronic device, a useridentification module, and a data adjustment module. The data providercan be capable of providing access to electronic data. One or morecharacteristics of the electronic data can be incompatible with animpairment of an impaired user, adversely affecting the ability of theimpaired user to utilize the electronic data. The end-user electronicdevice can be configured to allow the impaired user to interact withelectronic data. The user identification module can be configured toidentify an identity of the impaired user and/or the impairment of theimpaired user. The data adjustment module can be configured toautomatically adjust incompatible characteristics of the electronic dataprior to presentation by the end-user electronic device. This adjustmentcan increase the ability of the impaired user to utilize the electronicdata with the end-user electronic device.

Another aspect of the present invention can include a method fordynamically adjusting content for an interaction impairment. Such amethod can begin with the identification of an impairment associatedwith an impaired user by an impairment-adaptive data interaction system.The impairment-adaptive data interaction system can be a computingsystem having components that support interaction of the impaired userwith electronic data. The impairment can affect an ability of theimpaired user to interact with electronic data. The impairment can bedefined within an impairment profile associated with the impaired user.The impairment profile can express acceptable limit values forincompatible data characteristics and/or the means to handleincompatible data characteristics. In response to a data request,electronic data can be received from a data provider. One or morecharacteristics of the electronic data can be incompatible with theimpairment of the impaired user. An incompatible characteristic canadversely affect the ability of the impaired user to utilize theelectronic data. The received electronic data can be automaticallyprocessed to adjust the one or more incompatible characteristics,reducing the adverse effect of the incompatible characteristics upon theability of the impaired user to utilize the electronic data. Theprocessed electronic data can then be provided to the impaired user forinteraction. It can be unnecessary for the impaired user to makeadditional modifications to the processed electronic data to compensatefor their impairment.

Yet another aspect of the present invention can include a computerprogram product that includes a computer readable storage medium havingembedded computer usable program code. The computer usable program codecan be configured to receive electronic data from a data provider. Oneor more characteristics of the electronic data can be incompatible withan impairment of an impaired user, adversely affecting an ability of theimpaired user to utilize the electronic data. The computer usableprogram code can be configured to automatically process the receivedelectronic data to adjust the incompatible characteristics, reducing theadverse effect of the incompatible characteristics upon the ability ofthe impaired user to utilize the electronic data. The computer usableprogram code can be configured to provide the processed electronic datato the impaired user for interaction. It can be unnecessary for theimpaired user to make additional modifications to the processedelectronic data to compensate for their impairment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method describing the general use of animpairment-adaptive data interaction system by an impaired user inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein.

FIG. 2 is a general functional block diagram of an impairment-adaptivedata interaction system in accordance with an embodiment of theinventive arrangements disclosed herein.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a system configuration thatcentralizes the functionality of the impairment-adaptive datainteraction system in accordance with an embodiment of the inventivearrangements disclosed herein.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of a system configuration thatdistributes the functionality of the impairment-adaptive datainteraction system in accordance with an embodiment of the inventivearrangements disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a system depicting an exampleembodiment of the impairment-adaptive data interaction system inaccordance with an embodiment of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein.

FIG. 3A is an illustrated process flow for the impairment-adaptive datainteraction system in accordance with an embodiment of the inventivearrangements disclosed herein.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method describing the general operation ofthe impairment-adaptive data interaction system in accordance withembodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosed herein.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method detailing operation of the dataadjustment module of the impairment-adaptive data interaction system inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention discloses a solution for dynamically andautomatically adjusting electronic data for a user's impairment. A userhaving an impairment that affects their ability to interact withelectronic data can utilize an impairment-adaptive data interactionsystem. The impairment-adaptive data interaction system can be acomputing system that automatically adjusts received electronic data tocompensate for the user's impairment. The user's impairment can bedefined for the impairment-adaptive data interaction system in a userimpairment profile.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentinvention may be embodied as a system, method or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction processing system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction processing system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing. Computer program code for carrying out operations foraspects of the present invention may be written in any combination ofone or more programming languages, including an object orientedprogramming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The program codemay execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method 100 describing the general use of animpairment-adaptive data interaction system by an impaired user inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein. Method 100 can begin in step 105 where the user initiates use ofthe impairment-adaptive data interaction system.

The term “impaired user”, as used herein, can refer to a person havingan impairment that results in a decreased ability to interact withelectronic data using an end-user electronic device. Examples of animpaired user can include, but are not limited to, an age-advancedperson with age-related hearing loss, a visually-impaired person, aperson having a condition that causes decreased fine motor skills, aperson with epilepsy, and the like. The impairment of the impaired usercan adversely affect their ability to interact with electronic datacreated for the general public.

For example, it can be difficult for an impaired user having a form ofchroma-impairment to utilize (i.e., read, navigate, etc.) Web pages thatuse colors that they are unable to differentiate or recognize. Asanother example, a video sample made by a non-professional on a Web sitecan be unusable to a hearing impaired user, if the video sample doesinclude a closed captioning option.

The impairment-adaptive data interaction system can represent one ormore electronic devices or a computing system used by the impaired userfor data interaction. For example, the impairment-adaptive datainteraction system can be a laptop computer belonging to the impaireduser.

The impairment-adaptive data interaction system can identify theimpaired user and their impairment in step 110. The identificationprocess of step 110 can be complementary to the impaired user'simpairment. That is, the identification process would not include speechrecognition if the user has a speech impairment.

In step 115, the impaired user can use the impairment-adaptive datainteraction system to access electronic data from a data provider. Forexample, the impaired user can access a Web page on their computer. Itis important to note that the electronic data being accessed in step 115can lack compensation for the impairment of the impaired user.

The content provider can convey the requested electronic data to theimpairment-adaptive data interaction system in step 120. In step 125,the impairment-adaptive data interaction system can automatically adjustthe received electronic data to compensate for the user's impairment.Alternately, step 125 can be performed by the content provider prior tothe conveyance of the data to the impairment-adaptive data interactionsystem. The impaired user can then interact with the electronic data instep 130.

Without the use of the impairment-adaptive data interaction system, theimpaired user would have been required to manually analyze and adjustthe electronic data in order to make the electronic data usable. Theimpairment-adaptive data interaction system can automate thistime-consuming process, increasing the impaired user's accessibility tomore electronic data.

FIG. 2 is a general functional block diagram of an impairment-adaptivedata interaction system 200 in accordance with embodiments of theinventive arrangements disclosed herein. The impairment-adaptive datainteraction system 200 can be utilized within the context of method 100.

The impairment-adaptive data interaction system 200 can representvarious computing systems or electronic devices (hardware and software)that have been configured to automatically modify electronic data 240and 275 that is incompatible with an impairment of an impaired user 225and 255. Functionality of the impairment-adaptive data interactionsystem 200 can be centralized, as shown in system 220 of FIG. 2A, ordistributed, as shown in system 250 of FIG. 2B. The functional elementsof the impairment-adaptive data interaction system 200 can include userinteraction components 202, a communications handler 204, a useridentification module 206, a data adjustment module 208, and a datastore 210 containing a user impairment profile 212.

The user interaction components 202 can represent a variety of datainteraction methods and/or devices that allow an impaired user 225 and255 to interact with electronic data 240 and 275. The type of userinteraction components 202 can vary per device and/or specificimplementation of the impairment-adaptive data interaction system 200.Examples of user interaction components 202 can include, but are notlimited to, displays, touchscreens, peripheral input devices (e.g., amouse, keyboard, trackball, etc.), microphones, speakers, speechrecognition software, text-to-speech software, assistive technologydevices (e.g., footmice, sip-and-puff devices, eye-tracking devices,braille embossers, etc.).

The user interaction components 202 can be integrated components of adevice or can be connected to a device that is part of theimpairment-adaptive data interaction system 200 like the end-user device230 of system 250.

The communications handler 204 can be the hardware and/or softwarenecessary for the impairment-adaptive data interaction system 200 tosend and receive electronic data 240 and 275 over a network 245 and 280,when required. For example, the communications handler 204 can includemultiple transceivers and the ability to encode/decode electronic data240 and 275 for different communications protocols.

The user identification module 206 can represent the hardware and/orsoftware required to identify an impaired user 225 and 255. The useridentification module 206 can utilize a variety of identificationmethods commensurate with the user interaction components 202 and theimpaired user 225 and 255.

For example, the user identification module 206 can use a digital camera202 of a smartphone 200 and facial recognition software to determine theidentity of the impaired user 225 and 255.

The identification data captured by the user identification module 206can be correlated to a user impairment profile 212. The user impairmentprofile 212 can define the impairment of the impaired user 225 and 255so as to be understandable by the impairment-adaptive data interactionsystem 200. That is, the user impairment profile 212 can defineacceptable limit values for various characteristics or properties ofelectronic data 240 and 275 and/or designate a specific type ofprocessing that the electronic data 240 and 275 should undergo toincrease its usability by the impaired user 225 and 255.

For example, the user impairment profile 212 can define acceptable RGB(red, green, blue) values or a specific hue filter to apply to imagesbefore displaying to a chroma-impaired user 225 and 255.

It should be noted that the user impairment profile 212 can provide alevel of granularity that is lacking in existing approaches to datamodifications that target impaired users 225 and 255. That is, the sametype of impairment can be experienced differently by impaired users 225and 255. For example, the “color-blind” mode of a software applicationcan attempt to compensate for red-green insensitivity. However, eachred-green distinguishment-impaired user 225 and 255 can have varyingdegrees of red-green impairment, and this general approach can beineffective for some impaired user 225 and 255. Further, a red-greenimpairment mode cannot help impaired users 225 and 255 who have total orblue chroma insensitivity.

The impairment-adaptive data interaction system 200 can include a userinterface (not shown) to allow the impaired user 225 and 255 to enterdata for the user impairment profile 212. Such a user interface caninclude a wizard to assist the impaired user 225 and 255 in defining thelimits of their impairment.

In another contemplated embodiment, the impairment-adaptive datainteraction system 200 can learn the impairment of the impaired user 225and 255 over time by observing how the impaired user 225 and 255interacts with electronic data 240 and 275. The observations can then berecorded to form the user impairment profile 212. For example, ahearing-impaired user 225 and 255 can increase the volume of audio untilit is at a desired level. The impairment-adaptive data interactionsystem 200 can then record the user-selected volume as a minimum valuein the user impairment profile 212 for use with subsequent audioplayback.

In another embodiment, the data store 210 containing the user impairmentprofile 212 can be a portable media storage device capable of conveyingthe user impairment profile 212 to the impairment-adaptive datainteraction system 200. For example, the user identification module 206can utilize radio-frequency identification (RFID) and the userimpairment profile 212 can be stored in an RFID tag 210 worn orpresented by the impaired user 225 and 255.

The data adjustment module 208 can represent the hardware and/orsoftware necessary to modify electronic data 240 and 275 to becompatible with the impairment of the impaired user 225 and 255, asdefined in the user impairment profile 212. For example, the dataadjustment module 208 can include image processing software, videoprocessing software, audio processing software, text processingsoftware, and the like.

Alternately, instead of containing the various processing elementswithin the data adjustment module 208, the data adjustment module 208can include the processors by reference like a service call. Further,the data adjustment module 208 can be configured to only locally installdata processing elements that are specific to the impairment of theimpaired user 225 and 255. For example, the data adjustment module 208can locally install an audio processing element to handle audio data fora hearing-impaired user 225 and 255, and call an external imageprocessing service, when needed, for image data.

The data adjustment module 208 can include logic for determining whattypes of processes need to be run upon the electronic data 240 and 275,as well as the order. Further, the data adjustment module 208 can beconfigured to handle electronic data 240 and 275 comprised of multipletypes of data. For example, the data adjustment module 208 can berequired to adjust both the video and audio tracks of a movie 240 and275.

It should be noted that the impairment-adaptive data interaction system200 can best operate for one impaired user 225 and 255 at a time, due tothe granularity of impairment compensation. That is, compensationprovided by the impairment-adaptive data interaction system 200 for oneimpaired user 225 can be unsatisfactory for another impaired user 255.Multiple impaired users 225 and 255 can be supported as a group providedthat their impairments are relatively similar (i.e., both are red-greenimpaired) or non-intersecting (i.e., one visual impairment and oneaudial impairment).

System 220 of FIG. 2A can illustrate a configuration of theimpairment-adaptive data interaction system 230 where its functionalityis centralized to the devices of the impaired user 225. In system 220,the impaired user 225 can use the impairment-adaptive data interactionsystem 230 to interact with electronic data 240 received from a dataprovider 235 over a network 245.

The data provider 235 can represent a variety of data sources like a Website, a Web service, or a data system. The electronic data 240 providedby the data provider 235 can take a variety of forms and/or formats likeimages in JPG and PNG formats.

In this example, the impairment-adaptive data interaction system 230 canrepresent one or more co-located electronic devices of the impaired user225. For example, the impairment-adaptive data interaction system 230can be a smartphone or a television connected to a laptop computer.Regardless of the quantity of devices, all components 202-208 can besupported by the impairment-adaptive data interaction system 230.

In system 250 of FIG. 2B, the components 202-208, and, thus, thefunctionality of the impairment-adaptive data interaction system 200 canbe configured in a distributed manner. In system 250, the impaired user255 can use an end-user device 260 having the user interactioncomponents 202 and communications handler 204 to communicate with thedata provider 265 over the network 280.

When fulfilling a data request, the data provider 265 can identify theimpaired user 255 using the user identification module 206 and userimpairment profile 212. The electronic data 275 can then be modified bythe data adjustment module 208 prior to transmission to the end-userdevice 260.

System 250 can have the benefit of resource-savings forresource-constrained end-user devices 260 (i.e., processing of theelectronic data 275 is performed by the data provider 265). Further,system 250 can represent a service-oriented configuration (i.e., thefunctionality of the data adjustment module 208 is offered as apay-for-service of the data provider 265).

As used herein, presented data stores 210 and 270 can be a physical orvirtual storage space configured to store digital information. Datastores 210 and 270 can be physically implemented within any type ofhardware including, but not limited to, a magnetic disk, an opticaldisk, a semiconductor memory, a digitally encoded plastic memory, aholographic memory, or any other recording medium. Data stores 210 and270 can be a stand-alone storage unit as well as a storage unit formedfrom a plurality of physical devices. Additionally, information can bestored within data stores 210 and 270 in a variety of manners. Forexample, information can be stored within a database structure or can bestored within one or more files of a file storage system, where eachfile may or may not be indexed for information searching purposes.Further, data store 210 and/or 270 can utilize one or more encryptionmechanisms to protect stored information from unauthorized access.

Networks 245 and 280 can include any hardware/software/and firmwarenecessary to convey data encoded within carrier waves. Data can becontained within analog or digital signals and conveyed though data orvoice channels. Networks 245 and 280 can include local components anddata pathways necessary for communications to be exchanged amongcomputing device components and between integrated device components andperipheral devices. Networks 245 and 280 can also include networkequipment, such as routers, data lines, hubs, and intermediary serverswhich together form a data network, such as the Internet. Networks 245and 280 can also include circuit-based communication components andmobile communication components, such as telephony switches, modems,cellular communication towers, and the like. Networks 245 and 280 caninclude line based and/or wireless communication pathways.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a system 300 depicting an exampleembodiment of the impairment-adaptive data interaction system 310 inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein. System 300 can be specific embodiment system 220 of FIG. 2A.

In system 300, a visually-impaired user 305 can use theimpairment-adaptive data interaction system 310 to view InternetProtocol television (IPTV) data 335 from an IPTV provider 330. Thevisually-impaired user 305 can have a chroma-related impairment likered-green impairment. The IPTV data 335 can be video data in a fullspectral range.

The impairment-adaptive data interaction system 310 can be comprised ofa television 315 connected to an IPTV device or box 320. The television315 can be included as part of the impairment-adaptive data interactionsystem 310 as it is used as a user interaction component for the IPTVdata 335.

The IPTV device 320 can communicate with the IPTV provider 330 over thenetwork 340, similar to a digital cable television system. The IPTVdevice 320 can include the data adjustment module 322, communicationshandler 324, and a data store 326 containing the user impairment profile328.

In this example, the visually-impaired user 305 can be considered theonly impaired user of the impairment-adaptive data interaction system310. As such, the user identification module of the impairment-adaptivedata interaction system 310 can be omitted from the IPTV device 320.However, the IPTV device 320 can be configured to handle multipleimpaired users and can use various buttons or switches, like the deviceused to collect Nielsen rating data, as indication of the users present.

The actions taken by the IPTV device 320 can be further expressed inprocess flow 350 of FIG. 3A. The IPTV device 320 can receive 360 IPTVdata 335 from the IPTV provider 330. The data adjustment module 322 canaccess 365 the user impairment profile 328 to determine how to processthe IPTV data 335.

The data adjustment module 322 can then utilize one or more techniquesto process 370 the IPTV data 335 in accordance with the user impairmentprofile 328. The IPTV device 320 can then convey the processed IPTV data355 to the television 315 for presentation to the visually-impaired user305. The visually-impaired user 305 can enjoy viewing the processed IPTVdata 355 without having to make any manual modifications.

It is important to emphasize that the IPTV data 335 conveyed to the IPTVdevice 320 can be the same IPTV data 335 that would be provided to auser that does not have a visual impairment. Thus, because of theimpairment-adaptive data interaction system 310, the visually-impaireduser 305 can utilize data that they would normally not be able towithout time spent in modification.

Further, use of the impairment-adaptive data interaction system 310 candecrease the need for data creators to generate multiple versions of thedata to address different user impairments.

As used herein, presented data store 326 can be a physical or virtualstorage space configured to store digital information. Data store 326can be physically implemented within any type of hardware including, butnot limited to, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a semiconductormemory, a digitally encoded plastic memory, a holographic memory, or anyother recording medium. Data store 326 can be a stand-alone storage unitas well as a storage unit formed from a plurality of physical devices.Additionally, information can be stored within data store 326 in avariety of manners. For example, information can be stored within adatabase structure or can be stored within one or more files of a filestorage system, where each file may or may not be indexed forinformation searching purposes. Further, data store 326 can utilize oneor more encryption mechanisms to protect stored information fromunauthorized access.

Network 340 can include any hardware/software/and firmware necessary toconvey data encoded within carrier waves. Data can be contained withinanalog or digital signals and conveyed though data or voice channels.Network 340 can include local components and data pathways necessary forcommunications to be exchanged among computing device components andbetween integrated device components and peripheral devices. Network 340can also include network equipment, such as routers, data lines, hubs,and intermediary servers which together form a data network, such as theInternet. Network 340 can also include circuit-based communicationcomponents and mobile communication components, such as telephonyswitches, modems, cellular communication towers, and the like. Network340 can include line based and/or wireless communication pathways.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 describing the general operationof the impairment-adaptive data interaction system in accordance withembodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosed herein. Method 400can be performed within the context of method 100 and/or systems 220,250, and/or 300.

Method 400 can begin in step 405 where, in response to the activation,the impairment-adaptive data interaction system can identify theimpaired user. Step 405 can include the request of identifyinginformation from the impaired user. The user impairment profile for theidentified impaired user can be obtained in step 410. Depending upon theconfiguration of the impairment-adaptive data interaction system, theuser impairment profile can be stored locally or upon anetwork-accessible resource.

In step 415, electronic data can be received from a data provider, inresponse to a data request. The data request can be generated by theimpaired user or by a software application. The need for the receiveddata to be modified for user interaction can be determined in step 420.

When the data requires modification for user interaction, step 430 canbe performed where the impairment-adaptive data interaction systemmodifies the electronic data in accordance with the user impairmentprofile. After step 430 or when the data does not require modification,the electronic data can be provided to the user interaction componentsfor further handling (e.g., presentation).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method 500 detailing operation of the dataadjustment module of the impairment-adaptive data interaction system inaccordance with embodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosedherein. Method 500 can be performed within the context of methods 100and/or 400 and/or systems 220, 250, and/or 300.

Method 500 can begin in step 505 where the data adjustment module canreceive the electronic data. The characteristics of the electronic datacan be assessed in step 510. In step 515, it can be determined if one ormore of the characteristics of the electronic data are incompatible withthe user impairment.

When one or more characteristics of the electronic data are incompatiblewith the user's impairment, the processes required to adjust eachincompatible data characteristic can be determined in step 520. In step525, the identified processes can be applied to the electronic data.

Upon completion of step 525 or when the electronic data does not haveany characteristics that are incompatible with the user's impairment,step 530 can be performed where the electronic data can be provided tothe user interaction components of the impairment-adaptive datainteraction system.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be handled substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be processed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for dynamically adjusting content for aninteraction impairment comprising: a data provider capable of providingaccess to electronic data, wherein at least one characteristic of theelectronic data is incompatible with an impairment of an impaired user,wherein said at least one characteristic adversely affects an ability ofthe impaired user to utilize the electronic data; an end-user electronicdevice configured to allow the impaired user to interact with electronicdata; a user identification module configured to identify at least oneof an identity of the impaired user and the impairment of the impaireduser; and a data adjustment module configured to automatically adjustthe at least one incompatible characteristic of the electronic dataprior to presentation by the end-user electronic device, wherein saidadjustment increases the ability of the impaired user to utilize theelectronic data with the end-user electronic device, wherein the useridentification module further comprises: an impairment profileassociated with the impaired user that expresses: acceptable limitvalues for a plurality of data characteristics incompatible with theimpairment; and a type of processing for handling incompatible datacharacteristics.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the useridentification module further comprises: at least one data inputcomponent configured to capture identification data from the impaireduser, wherein said identification data correlates to the impairmentprofile associated with the impaired user.
 3. The system of claim 2,wherein the identification data comprises at least one of textual data,graphical data, audio data, biometric data, and video data.
 4. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the at least one data input component is anintegrated component of the end-user electronic device.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the data adjustment module further comprises: aplurality of data processing elements, each capable of modifying atleast one characteristic of the electronic data.
 6. The system of claim1, wherein the data adjustment module is at least one of a hardwareplug-in component and a software plug-in component installed upon one ofthe end-user electronic device and the data provider.
 7. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the data adjustment module is installed upon asecondary electronic device that acts as an intermediary between thedata provider and the end-user electronic device.
 8. The system of claim7, wherein the secondary electronic device is an Internet Protocoltelevision (IPTV) device that connects an IPTV service is the dataprovider to a television end-user device.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the data provider is a Web server and the end-user electronicdevice is one of a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, a notebook computer, a Web-enabled smartphone, and a computerkiosk.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the electronic data iscomprised of a plurality of data types, wherein the data adjustmentmodule handles each data type comprising the electronic dataindependently.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein the data provider is aportable media storage device.
 12. A computer program product comprisinga computer readable storage medium having computer usable program codeembodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising:computer usable program code configured to receive electronic data froma data provider, wherein at least one characteristic of the electronicdata is incompatible with an impairment of an impaired user, whereinsaid at least one characteristic adversely affects an ability of theimpaired user to utilize the electronic data; computer usable programcode configured to automatically process the received electronic data toadjust the at least one incompatible characteristic, wherein saidprocessing reduces an adverse effect of the at least one incompatiblecharacteristic upon the ability of the impaired user to utilize theelectronic data; computer usable program code configured to provide theprocessed electronic data to the impaired user for interaction, whereinit is unnecessary for the impaired user to make additional modificationsto the processed electronic data to compensate for their impairment; andcomputer usable program code configured to identify the impairment ofthe impaired user, wherein the impairment is defined within animpairment profile associated with the impaired user, wherein theimpairment profile expresses acceptable limit values for a plurality ofdata characteristics incompatible with the impairment of the impaireduser and a type of processing for handling incompatible datacharacteristics.
 13. The computer program product of claim 12, whereinidentifying the impairment further comprises: computer usable programcode configured to receive identification data from the impaired user;and computer usable program code configured to obtain the impairmentprofile that correlates to the received identification data.
 14. Thecomputer program product of claim 12, wherein processing of the receivedelectronic data further comprises: computer usable program codeconfigured to assess characteristics of the received electronic data;computer usable program code configured to determine an existence of theat least one incompatible characteristic from the assessedcharacteristics using the impairment profile; computer usable programcode configured to identify at least one process for modifying the atleast one incompatible characteristic of the electronic data; andcomputer usable program code configured to apply the identified at leastone process to the electronic data.